The people that run one of the biggest creative groups on the planet
are trying to balance two priorities: sustaining positive growth among
its many agencies and continuing to produce quality work that is ahead
of the curve. Executives spoke at the 2005 AdForum Summit in New York,
telling consultants that they have a positive vision for themselves.

According to CEO John Dooner, the agencies of the WorldGroup
have added some impressive names to their blue-chip client list,
including Nikon, Verizon, and Intel, while adhering to common
foundations. "Our vision is to be recognized as a Category of One," he
said.

To achieve this, the WorldGroup is sticking to its guns:
proprietary and quantitative tools, and brilliant execution. It has
retained many strong clients. ExxonMobil has been a client since 1912,
and Sony since 1988. Success of the group's agenices has been seen
across the board: Marketing Week Magazine magazine ranking McCann
Erickson #1 in the U.K.; FutureBrand acquiring recent wins as Verizon
Wireless and Intel; Universal McCann optimizing a revitalization plan.

Joyce Thomas, Chief Creative Officer, spoke of the eye-catching
campaign to redefine the Levi's 501 Jeans brand. The campaign began by
looking at the overcomplicated pop-fashion culture and sought to
simplify it. The result was a website and series of 'web films'
promoting a simpler kind of jean.

Some other successful campaigns included that of Acuvue, which
saw a 26% growth in the U.S., the XBox gaming system which outsold
Playstation, MasterCard surpassing Visa in volume, and Intel. Jon
Cranin, Worldwide Creative Officer, called the Intel campaign "quite
provocative and simple."

The bottom line, according to Executive VP Eric Einhorn, is to
generate demand creation. "It has become a demand economy," he said.
"New business becomes ongoing business, where the pitch is just the
beginning of the relationship."

According to Dooner, relationships do matter. "At the end of
the day, it's all about the people," he said. "We won't let you down!"